The present invention relates to a surgical retractor assembly, and more particularly, concerns a surgical retractor useful in abdominal surgery and which is attached directly to the operating room table rail over either paper or linen drapes in order to maintain sterility at all times.
In surgical operations on the chest or abdomen, it is customary to employ a retraction apparatus. Most, if not all, versions of the retraction apparatus are attached directly to the operating room table by means of affixation to a rail which is provided along each side of the table. Whether by connection to one or both rails, the retraction apparatus generally provides a framework extending over the region of the patient in which the operation is to be performed. One or more retractor blades are attached to the apparatus framework, and these blades are positioned in the incision and serve to hold back tissue, organs, and the like so that the surgeon may operate on the intended area. These retractors, known as self-retaining surgical retractors, contribute to the efficiency of the surgeon, and are generally sufficiently adjustable to be useful in a variety of such surgical operations. Typical variations of this type of retractor are found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,572,326; 2,594,086; and 2,586,488. Although the known and available self-retaining surgical retractors offer many advantages in the operating room, some deficiencies are evident as well.
Most, if not all, of the known self-retaining retractors are attached to the operating room table rail directly, and then the surgical drape over the patient extends, as best as possible, over both the rail and the attachment portion of the surgical retractor. It is most desirable to cover the rail of the operating room table inasmuch as the rail generally establishes the line between sterile and non-sterile planes in the operating rome, i.e., above the rail is considered sterile, while below the rail is considered non-sterile. Therefore, at the attachment point where most surgical retractors are directly affixed to the rail, contamination and non-sterility are generally presumed to occur. A surgeon or sterile assistant attaching anything to the rail or elsewhere in this lower region would have to wear a double set of gloves, the outer set being discarded before proceeding with the operation. Moreover, any attempt during surgery to move the retractor by an adjustment at its attachment point on the rail would also involve the problem of invading the non-sterile lower plane of the operating room, below the line established by the attachment rail.
Merely placing the surgical drape over the rail first, and then attaching the surgical retractor to the rail over the drape will not solve this invasion of the non-sterile area if the clamp tightening mechanism is at or near the rail, as is the case with known self-retaining surgical retractors. Whereas the drape may serve to cover the non-sterile rail and some of the region below, the surgeon or assistant may still have to drop his hands near or into the non-sterile region in order to tighten the retractor clamp to the rail. This means that there may be an exposure to the non-sterile region below the rail, with the attendant risks of contamination. Accordingly, it can be appreciated that improvements are needed, particularly in the manner of attaching self-retaining surgical retractors to the operating room table while not invading the non-sterile region. It is particularly to the solution of that problem, and others as well, that the present invention is directed.